The Conditions That Led to Riots, Black Nationalism, and Wattstax by Christian Turner-Smith

Why did the uprising occur?

High levels of unemployment and police brutality within African American communities led to the build up of tension within African American communities nationwide.

National unrest

According to resources such as “Ella Baker & the freedom movement A radical democratic vision” by Barbara Ransby “LOS ANGELES RIOT OF 1965”  by Lacey P. Hunter, and in the Wattstax documentary we see national unrest within the black community due to the systematic mistreatment. Scholars see a description of national unrest in "Ella Baker & the freedom movement A radical democratic vision” by Barbara Ransby states “Bakers beloved  Harlem erupted in 1964, followed by watts Rios in 1965 and dozens of urban areas in years thereafter”( 344). That perspective, however, is a perspective that reflects the African American community nationwide. Due to the fact that People outside of Los Angeles dealt with the similar type of injustices that manifested itself thru the uprisings in Watts and  all over the nation.

Issues within the African American community that contributed to the Watts riots

Economic issues such as low employment rates also contribute to the unrest within the African American experience, as well as the treatment by outside forces such as the police. The Wattstax documentary opens with a man explaining someone's position on where he finds himself within the existence of the state. "I don't have a damn thing to fight for a have no country, no flag, ain't got no damn thing to fight for go up there get half my ass blown off and come back home and can't even draw on unemployment let alone find a job" (11:20). This highlights that he sees himself as existing outside of the justice and political system exposing the frustration people within the watts community experience. His statement also mirrors the Times magazine article “50 Years After Watts: The Causes of a Riot” where Bayard Rustin states “I think the real cause is that Negro youth—jobless, hopeless—does not feel a part of American society. ”Both quotes highlight the lack of economic opportunities that contribute to the frustration within the community. An article by the name of “LOS ANGELES RIOT OF 1965” by Lacey P. Hunter explains “In the two decades before the Los Angeles riot, African Americans experienced extreme prejudice in the job and housing markets, and the same sources of discrimination largely excluded them from full participation in the American economy”(Hunter).

Racism

Local issues are heavily surrounded with racism and mistreatment by the police as well as a lack of support for the African American community in Los Angeles. The black panther party newspaper mentions the issues surrounding the riots and claim that they still existed in the 1980s by stating “Black citizens of Los Angeles are approaching a frustration level and distrust of law enforcement officers compared to the frustration and distrust that existed prior to the Watts riots”. While this meeting essentially predicts the future riots of Los Angeles is shows how issues continued after the uprising. Another example of the growing discontent inside of the African American community in Los Angeles can be seen in the Lorrie Joiner interviews Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, called “Looking Back: 40 Years After the 1965 Watts Riots” discusses issues within the community that led to the uprising and claims “There had been a lot of dissatisfaction with the way police were treating people in the community. There was unemployment and there was certainly a lot of reaction to the fact that you had to drive so far to get any kind of medical care”. Therefore she highlights that policing, employment, and medical were some of the main reason why the uprising occurred.

The incident that set it off!

While the tensions between racism and economic issues including low employment rates the Times magazine article named "50 Years After Watts: The Causes of a Riot” quotes Martin Luther King Jr stating that, “In Watts [there] is a unanimous feeling that there has been police brutality.” Therefore the economic and social issue that plagued the Watts community was an underlying issue that was amplified with the arrest of  Marquette Frye. The article “LOS ANGELES RIOT OF 1965” by Lacey P. Hunter who explains “The riot began on August 11 when a white police officer, Lee W. Minikus, stopped Marquette Frye, a 21-year-old African American man, and Ronald Frye, his 22-year-old brother, for reckless driving” (Hunter). The tension within the community and the policy permeated as bystanders witnessed the arrest taking place. Therefore the riots were not directed at the arrest of Marquette Frye but the arrest was the event that ignited the fire that was brewing underneath the surface due to the social and economic injustices within the Watts community and nationwide.

The Wattstax festival is a celebration of the Uprising

Wattstax is a remembrance of the uprising, despite the amount of improvement or the lack of improvement the uprising brought the community together. Therefore the festival resembles the community coming together as a form of resistance. One member of the festival explained the point of Wattstax at about 31:30 claiming was "here to commemorate a revolution that helped the movement and was a milestone of black pride”. Therefore Wattstax was a way to bring the community together and commemorated the uprising.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSxyU-AbF6M

Works Cited:

Hunter, Lacey P. "Los Angeles Riot of 1965." The American Mosaic: The African American Experience, ABC-CLIO, 2019, africanamerican2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1477402. Accessed 1 June 2019.

Joiner, Lottie L. "Q&A: Looking Back: 40 Years After the 1965 Watts Riots." The Crisis, vol. 112, no. 4, Jul, 2005, pp. 9. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/199590106?accountid=14512.

Rothman, Lily. “50 Years After Watts: The Causes of a Riot.” Time Magazine, 11 Aug. 2015.

Author, Anonymous. “Black Congressman Holds Public Hearing: ‘L.A. Police Operate Above the Law.’” Black Panther Newspaper, 1980.

Stuart, Mel, director. Wattstax. YouTube, YouTube, 1 Sept. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_P6ZWUJIa0&t=1921s.

Wattstax video

https://youtu.be/lZ9PZsIS41s?feature=shared

http://time.com/3974595/watts-riot-1965-history/

https://bltc.alexanderstreet.com/philologic/BLTC/navigate/2419/1/

Like the 1990’s riot they're was an event that brought up the anger and tension within the community due to those social and economic issues.

CBS documentary

Years after the riots occurred

LOS ANGELES RIOT OF 1965

“Can we pick up the pieces and start all over”

31:5

“I think the real cause is that Negro youth—jobless, hopeless—does not feel a part of American society,” said movement leader Bayard Rustin..

Photo Sources:

Collage photo: https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/08/17/say-it-loud-delivers-a-fiery-crash-course-in-political-cinema-from-the-black-power-era/ Photo Illustration by ANDREW SROKA / THE VILLAGE VOICE.